


Mr. Bug Saves The Day

by plikki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Being A Great Boyfriend, Companion Piece, Established Relationship, F/M, Mr. Bug Appreciation Club, One Shot, Sick Marinette, post-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 06:17:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21294908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: When an akuma attacks while Marinette is sick, Adrien knows there is only one thing he can do.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 16
Kudos: 211





	Mr. Bug Saves The Day

**Author's Note:**

> My Fictober inspiration is still keeping me in its clutches, it seems. Last month, I wrote a one-shot, which is chapter 15 in my Fictober collection. I loved the idea when I got it and how it turned out as well. But since it was from Marinette's POV, it had a specific purpose. When I got the idea to write it from Adrien's POV, I knew it would be different. He had so much more to say. But I still decided to do it, since you know, I love Adrien and Mr. Bug even more. It doesn't matter if you've read the original piece or not. I hope you like this one!

Adrien looked up the moment his phone buzzed with an emergency alert. Marinette wouldn't hear it, sleeping as she was in her loft bed, but his instinct was still first to check on her. Her fever had finally broken and she could get some much needed rest, so he'd hate to see her sleep disrupted. 

It had been a testing 24 hours. Marinette had gotten one of those short but exhausting 24 hour bugs. She'd been so out of it by the time he'd arrived the previous day that his heart didn't let him joke about it. She'd been running a high fever, which kept her bed-ridden, apart from the frequent trips to the bathroom. She'd been embarrassed for him to see her like that, but he'd quickly waved her worries away. She was his girlfriend and best friend and partner. If he couldn't be with her in such a moment, what kind of a person was he?

He'd arrived on Saturday at noon for a pre-planned study session only to be informed by her mother that Marinette wouldn't be doing a lot of studying. He'd immediately offered to take over as her caregiver. Her mum had enough work at the bakery and looked relieved when he'd proposed to help. He'd promised that he'd study while Marinette was sleeping. That'd settled it so he'd headed upstairs. 

But before he could get to Marinette's bedroom, he'd heard her in the bathroom. When he saw that the door was open, he'd rushed there without a second thought. He found her on her knees in front of the toilet bowl, dry heaving. 

She looked like she was already exhausted, hair plastered to her pale face. He saw that her hair ties were loose so without hesitation he removed them and gathered her hair in one hand, while rubbing her back slowly with the other in what he hoped was a soothing manner. 

She turned bleary eyes towards him. Her voice was hoarse and barely there when she tried to say,

"Adrien, get out of here."

"Not a chance. I'm not leaving until you're better," he said quickly, his tone final and not accepting any arguments. 

She moaned as another wave of nausea washed over her and she doubled over in pain. 

He waited while the worst was over.

"Better?" he asked after a minute. She was barely holding her head up so he wanted to take her somewhere more comfortable. 

"For now," she replied. This was enough for him.

"Let's get you upstairs then," he said and didn't wait for an answer, already swooping her up in his arms. 

She was too weak to protest, it seemed. Her head plopped on his shoulder. 

He slowly made his way to her room, where he was greeted by a worried Tikki.

"Oh, Adrien, I'm so glad you're here. I've been so worried," she chirped. 

"It's ok, Tikki. I've got her. I'll take care of her. She'll be much better very soon, I'm sure."

"Don't worry, sugarcube," Plagg said, leaving his hiding place in Adrien's shirt. "You know it's always better when they're together."

The kwamis zipped away, while he carefully took Marinette to her bed. It required some serious maneuvers on his part, making him wish that he was Chat Noir so he could just jump up without an effort. But he couldn't risk that when her mum could come in at any moment.

Once he'd tucked Marinette in, Adrien leaned in and kissed her softly on the forehead. 

"Stay away, silly kitty," she mumbled. "You'd catch it too."

He chuckled at the way she admonished him and weakly tried to push him away. 

"It's ok bugaboo. I don't mind. But for your peace of mind, I'd stay away. I'm going to grab a bucket for you. I think going to the bathroom too often would be too taxing for you. And me," he admitted ashamedly. 

He wanted to help her but what he could do was limited when he was Adrien. 

"As long as I don't need to go..." her eyes widened and she looked like she'd have blushed if she was capable of it. But her skin was now too pale. "Oh God, add mortified to me feeling terrible. Anyway, you can't really take the toilet bowl here," she said, hiding her face in her pillow.

"It's ok. Yes, I guess we can't get around that. But let's hope it'd be limited to puking mainly," he said. "I'll grab that bucket and I'll be back."

"You're staying?" she said, her voice muffled. 

"Of course. I wouldn't dream of leaving you like this. What kind of a knight in shining armour would I be?" he added with a soft laugh. 

"Love you," she mumbled. 

"Love you too, m'lady."

***

So they'd fallen into a routine. He'd help her if she needed it. He'd throw away anything that needed to be discarded. He gave her water to keep her hydrated as best he could. He'd help take her to the bathroom when it was absolutely necessary. 

Sabine took him some food and tea to eat and drink while he studied in the lulls, when Marinette was sleeping restlessly. She looked at him, her eyes grateful, saying that her daughter was in good hands. He'd blushed at that comment. 

The day was over before he could blink, it seemed. He'd phoned Nathalie earlier, after talking with Sabine and her agreeing to him spending the night on Marinette's chaise lounge. He wanted to be close, he couldn't imagine sitting alone in his room, worrying about her. 

So when it grew dark, he settled for the night. The kwamis were huddled together nearby. He looked at them fondly. They were so happy they could finally spend time together, now that he and Marinette knew each other's identities. They bickered all the time but it was obvious they cared very much about it other. Being companions for millennia probably had something to do with that. 

The night had been long and restless. Fever medicine helped but there were still a few times Adrien had to help Marinette. He woke up often to check on her and she was turning always around in her sleep, mumbling to herself. 

The next day dawned on their tired faces. He was nowhere near Marinette's level of exhaustion. But he still felt slow and sluggish. He put on a brave face, he had to do it for her. He drank a cup of coffee with pleasure and felt refreshed when its effect kicked in.

Plagg and Tikki hovered around Marinette, throwing concerned glances in her direction so he took pity on them. 

"She'll be fine, guys, don't worry. Best case scenario, it would be over by noon. But she'll still need to rest," he told them. Tikki shot him a look, a quick one but he read it. They were still worried about a potential akuma attack. He was ready to act in case of an emergency but he still hoped to avoid it. 

As predicted, Marinette was better once the 24 hours had passed. But understandably, she was exhausted and wanted only to sleep. Her stomach was still queasy, so she'd only sipped water. Adrien left her to sleep and was reading on her chaise lounge in the meantime. When he heard his phone and saw the familiar alert, his heart clenched with anxiety. Plagg and Tikki were by his side in an instant. He clicked on the news report and couldn't take in much beside the blurry figure in colourful clothes. 

Tikki nuzzled his cheek, attracting his attention. 

"You can do it, Adrien. You've trained enough. You know what to do. I'll help as much as I can. Just believe in yourself," she rattled off. 

"She's right, kid. I have great faith in you. You make a perfect Chat Noir, but also a decent enough Mr. Bug. I know you think you're not good enough, but you can do the job. That's what matters. So, buckle up."

As far as encouragement went, this was all he could get from Plagg. But it still meant the world to Adrien.

"I can come help, you know," Plagg added, but Adrien was shaking his head before he'd finished. 

"No. Stay to watch over Marinette and be with her in case she wakes up. Also... I can only hope it wouldn't come to this, but you have to be here to transform her if for some reason I fail."

His voice almost cracked at the last word. His biggest fear. But he'd have to overcome it now. There was no other way.

He went up to Marinette's bed and took off the earrings as carefully as possible. She stirred in her sleep but didn't wake up. When he put them on, he slipped his ring off his finger and put it on hers. He then placed a soft kiss on her forehead. He whispered "See you later," at Plagg and then got out on the balcony. He heard Plagg's faint reply of "It will be fun, trust me", a last attempt to cheer him up.

He paused to take a deep breath, Tikki hovering nearby.

"We can do this, Adrien. Don't worry," she said again. 

He smiled at her and then steadied his voice to say, "Tikki, spots on!" She disappeared and then it was just him. Mr Bug. Ready to face that akuma and do his best to bring back everything back to normal before his lady woke up.

***

After checking the latest sightings report, he tugged the yo-yo off his waist and threw it towards a nearly chimney. He loved the feeling of effortlessly moving through air when he was Mr. Bug. He'd gotten used to it during their training sessions. As he traveled towards the akuma, he tried to remember everything he'd learned. Focus on the opponent. Learn as much as you can about them. Find their weakness. Try to spot the akumatised object. Summon Lucky Charm then, not earlier. Try to come up with a plan to use it. Keep in mind that it was attuned to him and his way of thinking. Tikki was giving him something made for him, not Ladybug. So he'd need to be himself, use his strengths to come up with a plan. Execute it. And win. Was there any other option? He didn't even want to think about it. 

It wasn't until he stood on a roof, overlooking the place where the akuma was focused at that moment, that he realised why this would be harder than usual.

He needed a partner. Someone to act as a cover, to protect him. While he went through the necessary steps. But she wasn't there. He'd have to do it alone. 

First things first. 

From what he could gather from the news reports, the akumatised villain was a teenage boy angry at his best friend, who'd done something behind his back. Now he wanted to make everyone inseparable from their friends, so they couldn't hide and lie to them. He was practically gluing people together. 

It was a good thing that he was facing someone his own size. Not that they couldn't fight adults, they'd done enough of that, but it was harder to do on his own. Also, it might be easier to outsmart this one. 

His weapon was his glue shooting arm, so he'd have to stay away from that, unless he wanted to risk ending up glued to an unsuspecting civilian. And he wanted to be glued to only one person and she wasn't there. 

Was the akumatised object on his arm? Adrien carefully observed and inspected from a distance, using the fact that he hadn't been spotted yet in his favour. There seemed to be a colourful bracelet on his wrist, in a way part of the glue-shooting contraption. A friendship bracelet? It would be fitting. It also corresponded to the colours on his suit. So that must be it. 

He'd have to think of a way to take it off his arm while keeping away from the glue. Should he call on his charm now, which would give him an opportunity to figure out a way to use it in peace, he wondered. Would he be able to pull it of in the allotted five minutes? He had only this chance. 

He summoned his Lucky Charm, waiting with bated breath to see what would fall in his hands. It was a tall and round vase with the trademark spotted pattern. He looked from it to the villain, still busy gluing people together. Good. He wasn't intent on getting the Miraculous as soon as possible. He only cared about selfishly inflicting discomfort and his own idea of a good friendship on people. Not a convoluted plan, Adrien chanted, his mind whirring. Simple. SImple. The simplest thing would be to cap that glue-shooting hand, he realised. It wouldn't require maneuvers and help from anyone else. Well, it wouldn't be easy to just put the vase on the hand, he'd have to get close to him for that. And he'd have no backup. 

That's why they needed each other usually. It was a lot harder without having someone to watch your back. Well, lacking emotional support was bad too. He really missed Marinette's presence by his side. 

"Focus, Adrien," he told himself. 

So, he'd have to put the vase over that hand, while using his other hand to grasp the bracelet and tear it up to free the akuma. He'd have the best chance to do that if he surprised the villain from behind. He'd have to forgo the usual distracting banter this time. It was better not to make his presence known until the last possible moment. 

He slowly circled the place where the villain was, stopping on a rooftop just behind him. He was looking for his next victims, explaining how his friend was the worst ever. But he'd still glue him to himself to prevent him from betraying him again, he was saying. 

Adrien focused on the hand he needed to capture. His Lucky Charm strapped with his yo-yo to his hip, his arms free to use at his sides. He took a steadying breath and prepared to leap. A beep startled him. Great, he had just four minutes. Better get moving. 

Before he could hesitate, he was on the villain's back. He wrapped an arm around him tightly just as he started trying to throw him off.

"Hold your horses, colourful guy. This would be over before you know it," he muttered.

"Who are you?" screeched the villain, trying to turn around and catch a glimpse. 

"Not that it matters who takes you down, but I'm Mr. Bug," Adrien said as he held on for dear life. He needed to act soon.

"Where is your Ladybug, then?"  
"Indisposed at the moment. But don't worry, I'll take care of you."

"You wish," said the villain, trying to swipe at him with his glue-shooting hand. Great. Adrien used the opportunity to take the vase off his hip and put it over the contraption in one smooth move. Before the villain could take away his hand, he snatched the bracelet. It tore apart in his hand easily. With a grin he watched the akuma fly away, while the villain's outfit dissolved under him, leaving a confused boy in its wake. 

Adrien jumped back and threw the yo-yo, after splitting it open, to capture the akuma. Then, with a satisfied sigh, he said "Bye, bye, little butterfly." 

Getting the vase from the ground where it'd rolled over, he threw it in the air to free all the glued people. 

He'd already attracted attention, while battling the villain. Now curious people came closer, intrigued by the fact that Mr. Bug was on his own. He shot them a grin and said,

"You're safe now, people. Take care of this young man. I'll make sure your Ladybug has her Miraculous back. Don't worry about her." With a bow, he turned around and left.

***

When his feet hit Marinette's balcony, he had a minute left before detransforming. He opened the skylight and dropped inside. He'd hoped that Marinette would be still asleep, unaware of his absence and the reason for it. So he was surprised when he saw her sitting in bed. Before he could say a thing though, she was all over him. Her lips hot on his. Desperately seeking reassurance that he was fine. He wrapped his arms around her, savouring the familiar taste of her. He felt her hands move all over his suit, looking for anything out of order. When they didn't find anything, he felt her tense body relax. Her kiss lost its desperate edge, but it was still as hungry as before. They hadn't really kissed in almost two days. For them, this was long. Too long. So he welcomed the chance to make up for it. 

It was when they pulled apart, gasping for air, that his worry made itself known. He'd tried very hard to keep it at bay, suppress his concern in order to concentrate on the battle. But he was worried. She'd been so sick. He took the opportunity to look her over. Her cheeks were no longer pale, now they were rosy from their kissing. It suited her. She also looked not well-rested, but still better. While she was still exhausted, her eyes were brighter. And she was up. It was more than 24 hours since he'd last seen her well enough to sit in bed instead of lying down.

"I was so worried about you," she whispered into his lips. 

“I’m sorry. That’s why I left Plagg with you, to keep you company. I was worried about you too. Are you feeling better?” he asked.

“Much better. But still weak as a kitten,” she said, smirking at him. He smiled widely at that.

“Hey, I’m a kitten too, but you know I’m anything but weak,” Plagg threw in and they both laughed. “Good to see you back, kid,” he told Adrien, fondness clear in his voice. 

“Remind me never to listen to you, again,” Adrien said in mock indignation. “It will be fun, trust me,” he told me before I left. Can you imagine?” he added, turning to Marinette.

“Was it terrible?” she asked, concern written all over her face.

“Nah. I’m just kidding. I was lucky. It wasn’t anything too hard. I would have preferred having you by my side, but it was ok. I think I did well for a first solo attempt,” he said, sounding proud of himself, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. 

He felt his transformation wear off and Tikki flew off to Marinette. But she turned towards him when she said,

"“He was amazing, Marinette. You should have seen him.”

It made him feel so good to know that she was proud of him. 

“Thanks, Tikki,” he said, looking fondly at the kwami. “We make a great team,” he added and they did the customary “Pound it!”. 

“Speaking of this, I think I can actually see you in action. I’m sure there is some footage of the battle. No one would miss anything like this,” Marinette said, reaching for her phone. 

They all huddled together to watch. 

Embarrassingly enough, the video was called "Mr. Bug saves the day."

It showed him jumping on the back of the villain (Friend Sticker, what a horrible name).

"A vase," Marinette said, noticing the Lucky Charm fastened to his hip. He could see her think, trying to predict his next move. She never stopped being Ladybug. 

She watched him put the vase on the villain's hand and grabbing the bracelet. 

"Good move, Bugaboy," she teased him. "That was really clever and quick," she added, her eyes shining with pride.

He basked in her praise. It was good to be appreciated, he thought. But as he held her there, close to him, he realised something he hadn't before. He'd been there, alone, and while he had the power to defeat the villain on his own, he'd felt lonely. And so vulnerable. He'd missed his partner. And her role was the one he usually had in this case. He realised how Ladybug felt every time. He'd accepted his sidekick role early on. And he was happy with it. But he finally saw that he was much more than that. He was needed as a partner. He provided moral support as well as physical back-up. 

That's what he thought as he held his lady, while she watched the footage again. Gushing over how amazing he was. He was happy that he'd helped. But it had required being separated from her. So if it was up to him, it'd never happen again. He preferred being by her side, helping as Chat Noir. They were a team for a reason. He also hoped she never got as sick as she'd been again. He'd been so worried, coiled like a spring for almost two days. So now he felt exhausted.

When she asked him to stay, he gladly agreed. This time after telling her parents good night and leaving as Adrien. He didn't want to overstay his welcome, but also couldn't imagine leaving her now. 

He held her tight as she closed her eyes, head resting on his chest. It was good to feel her there as he finally gave in to fatigue. His lady was in his arms, Paris was safe for now, he'd managed to win on his own. All was well. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first akuma battle I've ever written. And I avoid it for a reason, haha. But it was inevitable in this case. I hope it wasn't too terrible!


End file.
